Clarke County GaArchives Obituaries.....Mitchell, Susan Augusta July 4, 1895 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Meredith Clapper http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00012.html#0002801 November 12, 2008, 2:10 pm 5 July 1895 The Atlanta Constitution The Atlanta Constitution 5 July 1895 Athens, Ga., July 4.-(Special)-Miss Susan A. Mitchell died this morning at 10 o'clock after a long illness at her home on Hancock avenue in this city. Miss Mitchell was a daughter of the late William L. Mitchell, who for many years was professor of law in the University of Georgia and one of the most eminent members of the Athens bar. She was a cousin of Judge Albert L. Mitchell, of this city. Miss Mitchell, while totally blind and very feeble in health, was wonderfully gifted mentally. She possessed a bright mind and during her last years was engaged in writing a history of Georgia. She was a poet of no mean ability and her poems have been read with delight by thousands of people. They ahve in them the unmistakable evidence of genius and have been pronounced excellent by many literary critics. The most remarkable fact about Miss Mitchell's pems was the way in which she wrote them. From her own lips fell the story, which reads like a fairy tale. She said once to a number of friends that being blind she could not behold the beauties and hence was deprived of many of the best sources of poetry, but that nature made up for the loss of sight in this regard. Miss Mitchell said that at times her body would become perfectly cold from head to foot and that when such a thing happened she knew that the time had arrived to compose her verses. This cold sensation would immediately be followed by something like an electric shock and before her eyes, in which the sense of sight was dead, there appeared letters as if of fire. These letters expanded into full sentences, which she wrote down. In this manner she received her inspiration and her poetic muse, coming in such a remarkable way, was ever faithful. The funeral of Miss Mitchell will be held tomorrow morning at 10:30 o'clock at the Presbyterian church, where for many years she was a consistent member. Additional Comments: Parents are William Letcher Mitchell & Sarah Caroline Neisler File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/clarke/obits/m/mitchell11908ob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 2.7 Kb